Adding to the above comment re: Ouroboros.
Then there's Zero, which reveals that the Grandmaster and the Pope have an unofficial agreement that Crossbell is neutral territory. Of course both sides ultimately cheated but the fact that they had this understanding tells us there's a degree of high-level contact.
Also, something I have been wondering with CS III is why the layout of Stargazer tower is so different in that game. They really nailed the look and layout of all the other places you get to visit in chapter (sans the apartment that was different to account for a character added into the universe). I'm guessing they didn't want people going through the exact same place again for a third time even if it was in 3D instead of 2D.
I'm going to assume that it's the same reason why in Kingdom Hearts 2, Donald and Goofy don't recognize Yen Sid's Tower despite the fact that the chronological prequel Birth By Sleep shows that the pair has been there before and should have recognized it immediately: They redecorated between games. 😋
Don't have anything substantial to add except Kiseki is weird, but I love it. Part of me wants to say the games keep getting weirder but when I think about events even in early games they were weird as well. Just when you play the games you just go "this makes complete sense", but when you put it out in words, at least for me, you go "wait, what do you mean this stuff happens!?".
Mmm, I'm playing and thinking "I totally get most of this" but if I were ever to try and explain more than FC to anyone I would probably look like a raving lunatic... Which is likely why I've never tried 😜
More of a general anime question I guess than a Kiseki one but something I always thought stood out in Cold steel 1 and since that I didn't ask about because I thought maybe I'd figure it out after playing more Cold steel. But I aways thought that Beryl and Munk had weird creepy eyes. I mean this makes sense for Beryl, but Munk? As far as I know there never ends up being anything weird or mysterious about him. Is that some kind of eye style used in anime to mean something other than weird or creepy that makes more sense for him to have?
My guess is they gave him that look because he's pretty much a monomaniac, ie he's pretty much exclusively interested in one thing and that is radio. Beryl meanwhile gets the golden eyes because there's clearly Something Up with her and that color's really suggestive (though it's not universal, see Towa for example) and the general design of her irises emphasizes it as well.
And then CS3 introduces Freddy, who could probably have played an antagonist in some other series with that combination of eye shape, tiny irises and smile, but he's just a bit weird in his survivalist mentality rather than being in any way malicious. The series does occasionally play around with typical appearance tropes for fun, including ones that it's specifically set up only to subvert them later.
Following up on the above but tagging Azure stuff separately:
Yeah I mean the pupil/iris size/shape more than colour. I forgot about Freddy (I've been meaning to replay CS3 by now but my tv died soo.. yeah). He's a given though since he's supposed to seem like a creepy bug-eating weirdo. Beryl is clearly a creepy weirdo, but Munk is pretty mundane. It's strange too because IIRC he is the first one you see. I have some familiarity with what eyes/hair colour tend to mean for anime, but I don't think I've ever heard about iris/pupil shape/size other than shrinking when someone is shocked or horrified or something.
I'm not sure if it's possible to private message someone, and this is a little off topic, but I'll be brief. @Ghaleon I think I remember you mentioning on the old Xseed Boards that you waited a long time for Phantasy Star Online 2 to be localized? Unless I'm badly misremembering the game, this was recently announced so I thought I should mention it to you in case you were interested and maybe didn't know about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASYF0c4NfsI
Anyway, sorry if I'm mistaken or if you already knew about it.
Thanks, already know. It's... painful.
You see I played the beta on my 10 year old toaster pc and it ran fine. But it's a 10 year old toaster pc so.. you see... It's still using windows 7, and now they decided it's windows 10 only. Burned still.
I hope to get a new pc within the year though *crosses fingers*. But yeah thanks again =)
CS 3 spoilers
I imagine probably yes, but does CS4 have a scene where Alisa and her mom discuss what Alisa learned about her father? I kinda have a feeling it leads to something like 'you KNEW?!"
Actually it would be cool if Alisa gets her own combat shell eventually. Speaking of combat shells, do they ever really describe how Sara gets one? Doesn't seem like something you can just steal, nor does it seem like something they would 'give' to her. weird
CS 3 spoilers
SpoilerI imagine probably yes, but does CS4 have a scene where Alisa and her mom discuss what Alisa learned about her father? I kinda have a feeling it leads to something like 'you KNEW?!"
Actually it would be cool if Alisa gets her own combat shell eventually. Speaking of combat shells, do they ever really describe how Sara gets one? Doesn't seem like something you can just steal, nor does it seem like something they would 'give' to her. weird
But yes, she and her mom do have words over the whole Franz situation at a certain point.
As for how Sara got her hands on combat shells, they were given to her as she mentions the first time they appear, with the implication that someone is twisting her arm and making her use them. CS4 goes into some more detail here that I won't spoil, but the one Black Record volume in CS3 that discusses the Orbal Shutdown Phenomenon notes that Weissmann using combat shells back in SC implies he had some connection to the Intelligence Division. Take that as a hint of things to come.
in regards to last post
Well, the combat shells don't seem to need to be directed... err. directly like Millium/altina tend to do. They seem to be able to move independently too. Not to mention there's the whole flying fast advantage. I didn't get the impression Alisa's frame could fly, or move faster than horsie/motorbike.
I do remember Sara saying that in CS1, but I also recall her being like 'umm... welll... let's just say'. Didn't sound very concrete, nor does Sara seem to be the kind of person who is straight when she doesn't want to be. But if it's mentioned in CS4 that's fine I suppose.
@ghaleon I've heard Windows 7 is no longer being supported, in general, which could put your PC at risk since they won't be updating its security anymore if anyone gets passed it. I also know someone who managed to get a Windows 10 upgrade for free because of it. If I recall correctly they offered it because of Windows 7 no longer being supported/safe. I'm not sure if it's still being offered, but you might want to look into it as you may be able to still get the upgrade for free. Otherwise they can go on sale for around $50, if I'm not mistaken.
I don't have all the info on this matter so I could be wrong about some things or you may simply not be interested, but I thought I'd let you know either way. Sorry if I'm being a bother. I hope you'll be able to get your new PC and enjoy the game once you're able, though! 🙂
I had a couple questions I was hoping to ask:
Do you think it's best to only refer to Hajimari as Hajimari until after a good English translation has been decided, or do you think there's any good way to refer to it in English? I know the titles of the games usually only become completely clear after the game's been released, so I don't know what would be the best way to call it in English, or if I should just stick with Hajimari for now. Main reason I'm asking is because in my spoiler free write-up regarding the series, which I'm updating, I prefer to refer to the games in English if possible.
Also, do you think Hajimari should be considered a part of the Erebonia Arc, its own singular game, or do is it too early to know? Personally I think of it as a "the 3rd" type game for the Erebonia Arc as it is very similar to CS III/IV and mostly continues plot points seemingly directly from CS IV, but others have said it's its own game, not part of any Arc. So I'm curious which way you feel is safer to refer to it as. There's also a chance it'll become much more clear after the game releases, so it might be premature of me even to ask.
Lastly, well, after I update my write-up I was hoping to post it here, much as I did on the Xseed Forums. Would that be alright? And would you maybe be willing to give it a glance whenever you have the time to possibly provide some feedback? I consider you a knowledgeable veteran of the series, so I'd love to here your thoughts on it before I update/post the write-up/guide elsewhere. Sorry for the many questions.
Do you think it's best to only refer to Hajimari as Hajimari until after a good English translation has been decided, or do you think there's any good way to refer to it in English?
There are a couple different ways that 'Hajimari' could be localized by itself, and the rest could be read as Trails of X or from X or to X (or variations on those themes) so it's really hard to pick option and declare 'this one'. The fact that Falcom's chosen to write Hajimari with a nonstandard character also means there could be some important nuance that won't become clear until the game is out. I tend to stick with the Japanese until something official comes along.
That said, if you want to go with something right now and with the caveat that the game could prove me totally wrong, something like 'Trails from the Beginning' might be more likely than others to end up correct. I'm basing this on the fact that the Grandmaster's key line uses hajimaru written with the same nonstandard character and there's an English translation of it in the margins of the site, using 'Beginning'. The 'from' part I'm basing on Hajimari being a bridge between the beginning of the series and the end, so implied motion in the direction of the future seems appropriate.
If you want to use English for your guide, you can always do something like 'Trails from the Beginning (tentative title)' so people know it's not official. I mean, you don't want to go restarting the whole Trails in the Flash thing again, now do you? 😉
Also, do you think Hajimari should be considered a part of the Erebonia Arc, its own singular game, or do is it too early to know? Personally I think of it as a "the 3rd" type game for the Erebonia Arc as it is very similar to CS III/IV and mostly continues plot points seemingly directly from CS IV, but others have said it's its own game, not part of any Arc. So I'm curious which way you feel is safer to refer to it as. There's also a chance it'll become much more clear after the game releases, so it might be premature of me even to ask.
Falcom classifies it as a separate thing on the portal site for one thing. The fact that it's not just a continuation of plot points from CS4 but also from Azure (to the point that it means we're finally getting to see the events of the ending stills from 2011) means it really isn't fair to classify it as 'Erebonia 5'. It's got a triple-protagonist structure and Cold Steel represents only one of them.
Lastly, well, after I update my write-up I was hoping to post it here, much as I did on the Xseed Forums. Would that be alright? And would you maybe be willing to give it a glance whenever you have the time to possibly provide some feedback? I consider you a knowledgeable veteran of the series, so I'd love to here your thoughts on it before I update/post the write-up/guide elsewhere. Sorry for the many questions.
Totally, go right ahead! And I'd be glad to.
I mean, you don't want to go restarting the whole Trails in the Flash thing again, now do you? 😉
Oh, definitely not! That's exactly what I'd like to avoid, haha. I make sure to add little notes to the names to specify it's not an official name and can change.
Falcom classifies it as a separate thing on the portal site for one thing. The fact that it's not just a continuation of plot points from CS4 but also from Azure (to the point that it means we're finally getting to see the events of the ending stills from 2011) means it really isn't fair to classify it as 'Erebonia 5'. It's got a triple-protagonist structure and Cold Steel represents only one of them.
Ah, I didn't know they classified it as a different thing on their site. I won't include it as part of the Erebonia Arc.
Totally, go right ahead! And I'd be glad to.
Thank you very much!
My generally philosophy is to use the JP title for the JP version and the En title for the En version. When talking about events in Sen IV, I still try to use Sen over CS because CS4 hasn't been released yet. In regard to Hajimari, I really hope that NISA (or whoever localizes it) doesn't use a literal translation. From a marketing perspective, I'm baffled as to why Falcom chose the title in the first place.
